Car-brake.



No. 823,255. PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906.

H. T. BROWN. GAR BRAKE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 25, 1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1906.

Application filed September 25, 1905. $erial No. 279,975.

T all whom itvnay concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY T. BROWN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Wilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car Brakes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in car-brakes; and the invention relates more particularly to brakes for street-railways which are adapted to engage the rails of a track and retard and eventually stop a car equipped with the brakes.

My invention aims to provide positive and reliable means for-effecting a perfect cessation of the movement of a car should it be desired to suddenly stop the same. In this connection my invention is primarily intended for use upon cars that travel upon heavy grades, and to this end I have combined wheel-brakes and track-brakes in such a manner as to be simultaneously actuated by the operator of the car.

The present invention is an improvement upon the car-brakes shown, described, and claimed in Letters Patent Nos. 711,280 and 754,193, granted to me October 14, 1902, and March 8, 1904, respectively. The present application is wholly generic to the abovementioned patents, as I have rearranged in a more practical form the various actuating mechanisms of the car-brake, which will be presently described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a truck equipped with my improved brake. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line w a: of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow of said figure. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a transverse bar used in connection with my improved brake. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the upper end of an operating-lever, illustrating a connection made therewith. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan upon a small scale of the framework employed for supporting a portion of the actuating mechanism, and Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view of one of the main operating-shafts.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a conventional form of car-truck 1 as equipped with my improved brakes. The longitudinal girders 2 2 of the truck are provided with depending stirrups 3 3 and with upwardly-extending brackets 4 4. Be-

tween the depending stirrups 3 3 are journaled shafts 5 and 6, said shafts being substantially rectangular in crosssection. Upon the shafts 5 and 6, inside of the stirrups 3 3, are mounted angular arms 7 7, and in the end of each arm is journaled a wheel 01' roller 8. The arms of the shaft 6 are arranged in horizontal alinement with the arms of the shaft 5, these arms being positioned directly above the rails 9 9, over which the truck travels.

The upper ends of the brackets 4 4 extend inwardly in vertical alinement with the arms 7, and are provided with depending coiled springs 10 10, which support the ends of brake-shoes 11 11. The top of each shoe is provided with two inclining grooves 12 12, which converge toward the center of the shoe, and in these grooves are adapted to travel the wheels or rollers 8 of the arms 7. The bottom of each shoe at each end thereof is provided with a wedge-shaped groove 14 to receive the wedge-shaped tongue 15 of an auviliary shoe 1 6. The inner sides of the auxiliary shoes are provided with depending flanges 17, adapted to engage the inner side 18 of the rail-tread, whereby when the auxiliary shoe is lowered into engagement with the tread of the rail a larger gripping-surface is obtained, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

Below the longitudinal girders 2 2 of the truck adjacent to each one of the brackets 4 are bars 19 19, the lower ends of which are connected to the ends of the shoes 11 11 by links 20 20. The bars 19 19 are provided with rods 21 21, which are connected together by a conventional form of turnbuckle 22.

Pivotally connected to the longitudinal girders 2 2, adjacent to the wheels 23 23 of the truck, are depending hangers 24 24, these hangers supporting brake-shoes 25 25, that are adapted to engage the peripheral treads of the wheels 23 23. The hangers 24 24 are connected to the bars 19 19 by tie-rods 26 26, and the ends of these rods adjacent to the bars 19 19 are connected together by transversely-disposed bars 27 27, these bars being adapted to brace the depending bars 19 19.

Mounted centrally upon each one of the shafts 5 and 6 is a head 28, provided with outwardly-extending pierced lugs 29' 29. The shoes 11 11 are provided with inwardlyeXtending pierced lugs 30 30, and these lugs are connected to the lugs 29 29 by rods 31 31, each rod being provided with adjustable turnbuckles 32 32.

Supported by the longitudinal girders 2 2, adjacent to the brackets 4, are straps 33 33, which extend from one side of the truck to the other. The straps 33 33 are connected together by a longitudinally-disposed beam 34, and pivotally mounted, as at 35, centrally upon this beam is a diagonally-disposed operating-bar 36. The shafts 5 and 6 are provided With radially-disposed coextensive actuating-levers 37 38, which are carried by the shafts 5 and 6, respectively. The ends of the levers 37 38 are provided with links 39, through which pass the ends 40 of the oper ating-bar 36. The ends of the bar are connected to chains 41 41, that pass to the ends 'of the car-body and are connected to brakeshafts (not shown) of a conventional form, these shafts being commonly employed by the operator or motorman of a car for manipulating the brakes thereof.

To support the bars 19 and their appurtenant parts the straps 33 33 are provided with depending chains 42 42, which support the transversely-disposed bars 27 27. It will be noted that the brake-shoes and the various bars and rods which connect the same are entirely suspended from the truck, but are sufficiently held to retain the brake-shoes in a proper position to be actuated by the motorman or operatorof the car.

By the construction and arrangement of the various actuating mechanisms and the brakes it is possible to retard or stop a car in either direction in which it may be operated. When one of the brake-chains 41 is pulled forward, the diagonally-disposed operatingbar 36 actates the levers 37 38, and, owing to the obliquity of these levers relative to the shafts 5 and 6, said shafts will be partially rotated, moving the rollers or wheels 8 of the arms 7 into engagement with. the grooves 12 of the shoes 11 depressing the same until the auxiliary shoes engage the tread of the rails 9 91 Simultaneously with this operation the heads 28 'of said shafts are partially rotated, which through the medium of the rods 31 31, forces the shoes 11 and 16 outwardly, causing the depending flanges 17 of the auxiliary shoes to impinge against the sides 18 of the rail-treads and in this manner produce a wedging action of the brake-shoes that retards the momentum of the truck 1. The links 20 20, which connect the bars 19 and the shoes 11 are minutely adjusted, whereby the least perceptible downward movement of the shoes 11 11 affects the bars 19 19 and moves the lower ends of said bars inwardly toward the shoes, this movement being transmitted to the brake-shoes 25 25 through the mediumof the tie-rods 26, and simultaneously with the gripping of the auxiliary shoes 16 the wheel brake-shoes 25 25 will be thrown into action, bringing an equal pressure to bear against such surfaces as are exposed for braking purposes. In this manner the retardation of the truck is equalized at various points and prevents any sudden jarring that may tend to derail the truck. The leverage obtained upon the shafts 5 and 6 by the levers 37 and 38 permits of a gradual application of the brakes being made, and, if necessary, by the coperation of these levers a sudden application ol the brakes may be made in case of collision or a person or object is being run down by a car.

It is thought from the foregoing that the construction, operation, and advantages of the herein-described brake will be apparent without further description, and various changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a brake, the combination with a truck, of transversely-arranged shafts, arms carried by the ends of said shafts, wheels j ournaled in the ends of said. arms, shoes suspended from said trucks, auxiliary shoes carried by the first-named shoes, wheel brake-shoes suspended from said truck. and connected with the first-named shoes, means mounted above said truck to simultaneously partially rotate said shafts, means actuated by the rotation of said shafts to move said shoes outwardly, means actuated by the rotation of said shaft to simultaneously move said shoes and said wheel brake-shoes, substantially as described.

2. In acar-brake, the combination with a truck, of transversely-arranged shafts journaled in said truck, shoes suspended from said truck, means mounted above said truck to partially rotate said shafts in unison, means simultaneously actuated by the rotation of said shafts, to move said shoes downwardly and outwardly, substantially as described.

3. In a car-brake, the combination with a truck, of transverse shaits journaled in said truck, means for rotating said shafts, angular arms carried by said shafts, brake-shoes suspended from the truck and adapted to bear on the rails and rollers carried by said angular arms and bearing on said brakeshoes whereby the rotation of said shafts will cause the brake-shoes to bear 011 the track.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY T. BROWN.

Witnesses:

II. S. MoCLYMoNDs, D. B. DoUTI-IE'rT. 

